black cohosh – beware…. Article
Question:
Liver risk with menopause herb revealed Source: Menopause 2004; 11: 575-7 Describing the case of a postmenopausal woman who developed autoimmune hepatitis shortly after she began taking an herbal menopausal supplement. For the first time, US clinicians report a case of significant autoimmune hepatitis likely provoked by use of black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), an herbal supplement marketed to treat menopausal symptoms. The 57-year-old woman presented with a 2-week history of lethargy and fatigue, 3 weeks after she began using black cohosh for the treatment of hot flashes, Stanley Cohen (University of Chicago, Illinois) and colleagues explain. Her long-term medical history included diabetes, hypertension, polymyositis, and obstructive sleep apnea, but all related medications had been used for at least 2 years. Laboratory data showed significant elevations in aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, as well as mildly elevated alkaline phosphatase levels, although the woman had no personal or family history of liver disease. An antinuclear antibody titer was positive, and liver biopsy revealed "piecemeal necrosis and lobular infiltrates with extensive plasma cells and eosinophils," the team reports, which led to the diagnosis of drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis, most likely to due to black cohosh. While herbal remedies, including ma-huang and dai-saiko-to, have previously been associated with autoimmune hepatitis, black cohosh was thought to cause only mild side effects, such as stomach discomfort, the authors note. In view of their experience, however, Cohen et al conclude: "Herbal-induced autoimmune hepatitis should be considered when liver dysfunction or systemic symptoms develop in people taking black cohosh." Posted: 15 September 2004
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Ria! wrote: > Liver risk with menopause herb revealed > Source: Menopause 2004; 11: 575-7 > Describing the case of a postmenopausal woman who developed autoimmune > hepatitis shortly after she began taking an herbal menopausal > supplement. > For the first time, US clinicians report a case of significant > autoimmune hepatitis likely provoked by use of black cohosh (Actaea > racemosa), an herbal supplement marketed to treat menopausal symptoms. > The 57-year-old woman presented with a 2-week history of lethargy and > fatigue, 3 weeks after she began using black cohosh for the treatment > of hot flashes, Stanley Cohen (University of Chicago, Illinois) and > colleagues explain. > Her long-term medical history included diabetes, hypertension, > polymyositis, and obstructive sleep apnea, but all related medications > had been used for at least 2 years.
Ya know, it’s one thing to publish an article – based on ONE patient – saying that you suspect that black cohosh might have been involved in a patient’s hepatitis. It’s a WHOLE ‘NOTHER THING to jump to a conclusion, "Liver risk with menopause herb revealed," that sounds like a headline from National Enquirer. Shame on them! Based on ONE patient! Not to mention that the woman had a whole bunch of other illnesses going, was taking a bunch of other medications, and that fact that she’d been taking them for a couple of years doen’t mean squat. It could have taken a couple of years for adverse side effects to manifest themselves. And they didn’t mention the dose of black cohosh she had taken – maybe she was ODing on the theory that if a little helps a little, a lot would help a lot. I neither support nor defend the use of black cohosh – and I never took it myself. But the doctors ought to be better scientists than this, and if they can’t help themselves, the editors of the journal should have noticed! FurPaw — "In a sense, we are hallucinating all the time. What we call normal vision is our selecting the hallucination that best fits reality." – V. S. Ramachandran To reply, unleash the dog
Response:
FurPaw <furpawnews…@comcast.net> wrote in news:VMmdnThJkbR9X9XcRVn- p…@comcast.com: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Ria! wrote: >> Liver risk with menopause herb revealed >> Source: Menopause 2004; 11: 575-7 >> Describing the case of a postmenopausal woman who developed autoimmune >> hepatitis shortly after she began taking an herbal menopausal >> supplement. >> For the first time, US clinicians report a case of significant >> autoimmune hepatitis likely provoked by use of black cohosh (Actaea >> racemosa), an herbal supplement marketed to treat menopausal symptoms. >> The 57-year-old woman presented with a 2-week history of lethargy and >> fatigue, 3 weeks after she began using black cohosh for the treatment >> of hot flashes, Stanley Cohen (University of Chicago, Illinois) and >> colleagues explain. >> Her long-term medical history included diabetes, hypertension, >> polymyositis, and obstructive sleep apnea, but all related medications >> had been used for at least 2 years. > Ya know, it’s one thing to publish an article – based on ONE patient – > saying that you suspect that black cohosh might have been involved in a > patient’s hepatitis. > It’s a WHOLE ‘NOTHER THING to jump to a conclusion, "Liver risk with > menopause herb revealed," that sounds like a headline from National > Enquirer. > Shame on them! Based on ONE patient! > Not to mention that the woman had a whole bunch of other illnesses > going, was taking a bunch of other medications, and that fact that she’d > been taking them for a couple of years doen’t mean squat. It could have > taken a couple of years for adverse side effects to manifest themselves. > And they didn’t mention the dose of black cohosh she had taken – maybe > she was ODing on the theory that if a little helps a little, a lot would > help a lot. > I neither support nor defend the use of black cohosh – and I never took > it myself. But the doctors ought to be better scientists than this, and > if they can’t help themselves, the editors of the journal should have > noticed!
Uhm, before everybody gets all bent out of shape, please note the publication: the journal ‘Menopause’ is actually ‘Menopause : the journal of the North American Menopause Society’. Remember our old friend, NAMS? For those who don’t know, NAMS is pro-drug, pro-big-pharma, and anti- herbal. They get big bucks from the makers of HT. They never met a drug they didn’t like, and never met an herbal/natural remedy they didn’t hate. Chakolate — Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science. –Henri Poincare
Response:
In article <Xns956667FE95FCAchakolatehotmail…@130.133.1.4>, Chakolate <chakolateDeathToSpamm…@allvantage.com> wrote: >Uhm, before everybody gets all bent out of shape, please note the >publication: the journal ‘Menopause’ is actually ‘Menopause : the journal >of the North American Menopause Society’. Remember our old friend, NAMS? >For those who don’t know, NAMS is pro-drug, pro-big-pharma, and anti- >herbal. They get big bucks from the makers of HT. They never met a drug >they didn’t like, and never met an herbal/natural remedy they didn’t hate. >Chakolate
I didn’t know about this. Thanks, I’ll be aware of this journal. aphrodite
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -quthqqy8e75k…@jetable.com (aphrodite) wrote in message <news:WZl2d.166342$%n4.27980@bignews6.bellsouth.net>… > In article <Xns956667FE95FCAchakolatehotmail…@130.133.1.4>, Chakolate <chakolateDeathToSpamm…@allvantage.com> wrote: > >Uhm, before everybody gets all bent out of shape, please note the > >publication: the journal ‘Menopause’ is actually ‘Menopause : the journal > >of the North American Menopause Society’. Remember our old friend, NAMS? > >For those who don’t know, NAMS is pro-drug, pro-big-pharma, and anti- > >herbal. They get big bucks from the makers of HT. They never met a drug > >they didn’t like, and never met an herbal/natural remedy they didn’t hate. > >Chakolate > I didn’t know about this. Thanks, I’ll be aware of this journal. > aphrodite
=========== Sigh! WHat are we to believe? Ria! ===============
Response:
Ria! wrote: > Sigh! WHat are we to believe? > Ria!
Nothing. What we can do is evaluate what we read critically, asking if it makes sense, if the science is "good science," if the conclusions drawn are warranted by the data, who supported the research ("Follow the money") and who is publishing the study. When there is NO science, we have to rely on common sense and not on hope or the will to believe that "this" is going to be the long sought-after "fix." FurPaw — "In a sense, we are hallucinating all the time. What we call normal vision is our selecting the hallucination that best fits reality." – V. S. Ramachandran To reply, unleash the dog
